Join our NEW and IMPROVED Composting Program!
Ashley Hall
Marketing Coordinator
July 16, 2019 – Updated 1/2/20
Have you always wanted to start composting but just don’t know where to start? Does it seem intimidating? Not ready to start your own backyard composting program? Whatever the reason, we want to make it easier to “feed people, not landfills”! We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Rust Belt Riders! Rust Belt Riders is expanding their Community Supported Composting program to include the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes as a drop-off location.
Why did we change our previous composting program? By partnering with Rust Belt Riders, we are able to divert even MORE food waste from landfills than ever before. Instead of only being able to accept fruit and vegetable scraps, now, we can accept all food waste (see list of acceptable items below). Because Rust Belt Riders accepts all food waste, you can now drop off more food than ever before.
By signing up for the Community Supported Composting (CSC) program through Rust Belt Riders, participants can drop off household food scraps at the Nature Center for a monthly fee of $5 or less.
Nature Center at Shaker Lakes members get an extra 25% off of this service ($1.25 off of $5!) along with other discounts and membership benefits. Rust Belt Riders then picks up all food waste, sourcing out to a network of partners who then process the material into a nutrient-dense soil. By transitioning the old composting program at the Nature Center to this partnership,we are investing in the solutions and infrastructure needed to protect our natural resources and combat food waste. NOTE: Effective January 1, 2020, the fee for new participants will be $7.50 with your Nature Center Member discount.
How to Start Composting
1. Sign up for a Membership to get your 25% discount
2. Sign up for composting with Rust Belt Riders.
3. Designate a sealable container for your food waste
4. Get your household into the habit of putting food scraps into the container
5. Drop off at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes when it is convenient for you! The bins are accessible day or night seven days a week and are located at the far end of our parking lot.
6. TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, AND RELATIVES!
It’s just that easy!
Q: Which foods are compostable?
A: ALL on the “YES” list below!
Rust Belt Riders takes EVERYTHING: meat, eggshells, dairy, even coffee grounds and starches! Just no oil or plastics. You can even drop off BPI certified compostable forks, for example, but make sure that your flatware or silverware has the BPI certified stamp of approval.
NOTE: Backyard composting is VERY different from Rust Belt Riders commercial composting, which is why they are able to take meat, dairy, carbohydrates, and more.
For more information and to subscribe to Rust Belt Riders Community Supported Composting program, visit https://www.rustbeltriders.com
If you are a current member and need the discount code, please contact Patty Albrecht, Membership and Annual Fund Manager, at albrecht@shakerlakes.org or (216) 321-5935 x 232.
Composting Resources
